The Östliche Karwendelspitze (2,537 m) is a mountain formed from
Wetterstein limestone
The Wetterstein Formation is a regional geologic formation of the Northern Limestone Alps and Western Carpathians extending from southern Bavaria, Germany in the west, through northern Austria to northern Hungary and western Slovakia in the east ...
in the
Karwendel mountains
The Karwendel is the largest mountain range of the Northern Limestone Alps. It is located on the Austria–Germany border. The major part belongs to the Austrian federal state of Tyrol, while the adjacent area in the north is part of Bavaria, ...
on the border between
Bavaria
Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
and
Tyrol
Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...
. It is the highest mountain of the
Northern Karwendel chain
The Northern Karwendel Chain () is the northernmost of the four great, largely parallel mountain chains in the Karwendel in the Alps. It is made from very pure Wetterstein limestone, which has its heart in the Karwendel and runs for a total len ...
and the highest German peak in the Karwendel. It was first climbed by
Hermann von Barth
Hermann von Barth (5 June 1845 – 7 December 1876) was a famous German mountaineer.
Life and career
Hermann von Barth was born on 5 June 1845 at Eurasburg Castle. He initially studied law in Munich, where he was affiliated to the Corps Fr ...
on 4 July 1870.
The summit may be reached in 2½ hours from the
Karwendelhaus (1,765 m) on a partially trackless mountain tour that requires Alpine experience. The ascent crosses a grass and
schrofen
Schrofen, a German mountaineering term, is steep terrain, strewn with rocks and rock outcrops, that is laborious to cross, but whose rock ledges (''schrofen'') offer many good steps and hand holds. It is usually rocky terrain on which grass has es ...
covered ridge east of the ''Vogelkar'' cirque. Just below the summit there is a
UIAA grade I climbing section. There is a challenging descent which is recommended via the ''Grabenkar'' cirque through partly rocky and scree-covered terrain (I) with a fast scree run (''Schuttabfahrt''), however it is too laborious for an ascent.
The Karwendelhaus in turn may be reached either from
Scharnitz
Scharnitz is a municipality in the district of Innsbruck-Land in the Austrian state of Tyrol located north of Innsbruck and from Seefeld in Tirol on the German border. It is one of the largest municipalities and has 10 parts: Au, Eisack, Gi ...
or from
Hinterriß over the
Kleiner Ahornboden. Because of the long approach along the valley to the Karwendelhaus, a two-day tour should be considered as an alternative to a 10½ hour round day trip.
The Östliche Karwendelspitze may also be climbed by skiers in the spring through the Grabenkar. In winter this is usually not possible due to the high risk of avalanche and the long routes.
References
Sources
* Walter Klier: Alpenvereinsführer Karwendel alpin. 14th edition.
Bergverlag Rudolf Rother
Bergverlag Rother is a German publisher with its headquarters in Oberhaching, Upper Bavaria. Since 1950 the company, that formerly went under the name of ''Bergverlag Rudolf Rother'', had published the Alpine Club Guides in cooperation with the G ...
, Munich 1996,
External links
Tour descriptionSki tour from Hinterriß
by Hermann von Barth (Chapter XIX from the book: ''Aus den Nördlichen Kalkalpen'', Gera 1874, p. 420 ff.)
Mountain tour with GPS Track
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karwendelspitze, Ostliche
Mountains of the Alps
Mountains of Bavaria
Mountains of Tyrol (federal state)
Two-thousanders of Austria
Karwendel
Two-thousanders of Germany